Fix 0XC00D1031: WMP BMP Compression Not Supported

This error is annoying

You try to open a BMP image in Windows Media Player (WMP), and it just says "Compression format defined in BMP not supported." That's the 0XC00D1031 error. It's not your file being corrupt — it's WMP being picky about how the BMP was saved.

Quick fix: re-save the BMP

The fastest way around this: open the BMP in any image editor (Microsoft Paint works fine) and save it as a PNG. WMP handles PNGs without problems. If you must keep the BMP format, do this instead:

1. Open Paint (search for it in the Start menu).
2. File > Open — pick the broken BMP.
3. File > Save as > BMP picture.
4. In the save dialog, click "Save as type" and pick "24-bit Bitmap (*.bmp;*.dib)".
5. Give it a new name, click Save.

That new BMP will work in WMP. What's actually happening here is Paint strips the fancy compression and saves a plain uncompressed BMP.

Why this happens

BMP files can use different internal compression schemes. The most common is no compression at all — that's what Paint saves. But some programs (like old digital cameras, some scanners, or weird image converters) save BMPs with RLE (Run-Length Encoding) compression. Windows Media Player never learned to read those. The error code 0XC00D1031 is WMP saying "I see this is a BMP, but the compression method inside it is one I don't understand."

The reason step 3 above works: when you save as "24-bit Bitmap", Paint writes the file without any compression. WMP then reads it just fine because it's a plain, old-school BMP.

Less common cases

Sometimes the same error shows up for other reasons:

• BMP saved with 16-bit or 32-bit alpha compression — some image editors (like GIMP or Photoshop) can save BMP with alpha channels. WMP chokes on those too. Fix: save as 24-bit BMP or PNG.
• BMP with embedded color profiles — if the file includes an ICC profile, WMP might refuse it. The fix is the same: re-save in Paint.
• Corrupt BMP headers — if the header says compression but the actual data doesn't match, WMP still errors. Re-saving strips the bad header.

If Paint won't open the file at all, try GIMP (free, gimp.org). Open it, then File > Export As, pick BMP, and in the options set "Compression" to "None".

Prevention tips

To not hit this again:

• When saving images for media players, use PNG or JPEG. WMP likes those better.
• If you must use BMP, always save as 24-bit uncompressed. Don't let your image editor add RLE or alpha.
• For batch conversions, use a free tool like IrfanView (irfanview.com) with batch convert set to "BMP - 24 bit" output.

That's it. One re-save, and you're done. No registry hacks, no codecs to install.